EU TO REMOVE TAX ON 11,500 TONNES OF VIETNAMESE CANNED TUNA

In the long term, the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will bring many opportunities for Vietnam's tuna industry to expand its market share in 27 EU countries.
Under the commitment in EVFTA, the EU will eliminate tariffs on fresh and frozen tuna products (except for tenderloin / frozen tuna fillets code HS0304) as soon as the agreement comes into effect.

For frozen tuna loin/fillet code HS030487, the EU will eliminate tariffs for Vietnam on a 3-year schedule, from the base rate of 18%, right after the agreement comes into effect.

With steamed tuna loin and fillet products (raw materials for the production of canned tuna), the EU will eliminate tariffs for Vietnam on a seven-year roadmap, from a base tariff of 24%.

Particularly for canned tuna processed products (such as canned tuna in canned oil, canned bags, fish products in the canned tuna family ...), the EU will exempt Vietnam from the tax rate of 11,500 tons. /year.

Vietnamese tuna businesses are looking forward to this, especially canned tuna producers, the Vietnamese product line is not able to compete with products of the Philippines or Ecuador due to high taxes on the market. EU market.

According to statistics of Vietnam Customs, in the first 4 months of 2020, Vietnam's tuna exports to the EU are down 7.2% compared to the same period in 2019. However, canned tuna exports (HS16 code ) of Vietnam to the EU are on an upward trend with 2.7% over the same period.

Vietnam's tuna products mainly compete with similar products from Ecuador, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Vietnam is difficult to compete with other countries, the reason is that the catch volume, scale, and tuna production capacity of these countries are much better than ours.

In addition, Vietnam is also difficult to compete with the Philippines and Ecuador because they enjoy preferential tariffs, while Vietnam does not enjoy preferential treatment. Because Vietnam's seafood is considered to reach the "mature" threshold under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which means the group of goods with a relatively high export value to the EU in the years. By, January 1, 2014, Vietnam has no longer enjoyed preferential treatment. Therefore, Vietnam's tuna products are subject to a tax rate higher than 20.5%. This has reduced the competitiveness of Vietnam's tuna products.

The signing of EVFTA is expected to bring many opportunities for the Vietnamese tuna industry to explore markets. Because EVFTA helps Vietnam's tuna products will have a tax advantage compared to countries like Thailand or China, Vietnam's major competitors that hold large export market share in the EU but have not yet signed. FTA with the EU.

According to the Vietnam Association of Exporters and Producers (VASEP), for the time being, the situation of Covid-19 disease in major export markets is still worsening, which will make the world tuna market continue to fluctuate. The demand for canned tuna in markets will continue to increase. In addition, due to the impact of the income epidemic of people in the affected markets, the trend to look for cheap alternatives such as canned or canned tuna products more popular. This will impact tuna import trends in markets in the coming months. Therefore, businesses need to follow the market closely to make appropriate adjustments.

Source: congthuong.vn